Census-designated place · St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana

Reserve, Louisiana

Reserve is a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, part of the New Orleans-Metairie, LA metro area. It has 7,791 residents. Reserve, Louisiana has a quality-of-life score of 18 out of 100 (very low), ranking #12,858 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Louisiana it ranks #60 of 262 cities and towns. It ranks best on effective property tax rate (low), new business applications (high) and median Air Quality Index (low). It ranks worst on reading scores (low), primary care shortage (high) and math scores (low).

18Very low

Quality-of-life score: #12,858 of 15,651 cities and towns
Louisiana: #60 of 262 in LA
Population: 7,791 (2020-2024)
Land area: 15 mi²
Density: 535.1 /mi²
FIPS code: 2264310

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 73 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety22#12,255/15,637
Economy19#12,718/15,631
Housing63#5,555/14,977
Health9#14,180/15,609
Healthcare18#12,826/15,650
Environment42#8,907/15,453
Education3#15,227/15,649
Infrastructure57#6,670/15,650
Community6#14,735/15,651
Leisure & amenities83#2,674/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Reserve, Louisiana ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “St. John the Baptist Parish value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Effective property tax rate · low0.22%
99/100Louisiana 0.55%United States 0.94%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25090
New business applications · high20.5 /1k
91/100Louisiana 16.4 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauSt. John the Baptist Parish value
Median Air Quality Index · low34
88/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySt. John the Baptist Parish value
Drinking water violations · low0
86/100Louisiana 1United States 02024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. John the Baptist Parish value
Days with unhealthy air · low0.0%
84/1002025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencySt. John the Baptist Parish value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high6.0 /10k
81/100Louisiana 5.0 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsSt. John the Baptist Parish value

Weaknesses

Reading scores · low2.32
1/100Louisiana 2.74United States 3.052019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. John the Baptist Parish value
Primary care shortage · high20.0
1/100Louisiana 9.9United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationSt. John the Baptist Parish value
Math scores · low2.34
1/100Louisiana 2.71United States 3.032019University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. John the Baptist Parish value
Job growth · low-4.6%
2/100Louisiana -0.5%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataSt. John the Baptist Parish value
Social associations · low4.0 /10k
3/100Louisiana 9.4 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteSt. John the Baptist Parish value
Child poverty rate · high26.7%
3/100Louisiana 25.0%United States 15.5%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B17001

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationFalling
8,611 (2015-2019) → 7,791 (2020-2024)
−9.5%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
60.9% (2015-2019) → 94.3% (2020-2024)
+33 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
39.7% (2015-2019) → 26.7% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%
Unemployment rateWorsening
2.2% (2015-2019) → 14.5% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B23025US 3.7% → 4.0%
Poverty rateImproving
26.4% (2015-2019) → 19.1% (2020-2024)
−7.2 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%
Median household incomeImproving
$42,120 (2015-2019) → $55,450 (2020-2024)
+32%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Reserve, Louisiana improved on 3 of 13 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 10 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Broadband+33 points60.9% → 94.3%
Inequality−0.0760.454 → 0.378
Household income+32%$42,120 → $55,450

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 13 measures

Change of every measure of Reserve, Louisiana between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	23.4 min2015-2019	22.8 min2020-2024	−0.6 min	Within the margin of error	55%
Bachelor's degree or higher	11.2%2015-2019	10.3%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Broadband subscriptions	60.9%2015-2019	94.3%2020-2024	+33 points	Improved	99%
Child poverty rate	39.7%2015-2019	26.7%2020-2024	−13 points	Within the margin of error	87%
Effective property tax rate	0.22%2015-2019	0.23%2020-2024	+0 points	Within the margin of error	16%
High school diploma or higher	82.4%2015-2019	80.8%2020-2024	−1.6 points	Within the margin of error	18%
Home price to income ratio	2.9×2015-2019	2.8×2020-2024	−0.1×	Within the margin of error	83%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4542015-2019	0.3782020-2024	−0.076	Improved	92%
Median household income	$42,1202015-2019	$55,4502020-2024	+32%	Improved	59%
Poverty rate	26.4%2015-2019	19.1%2020-2024	−7.2 points	Within the margin of error	88%
Rent as share of income	26.2%2015-2019	23.1%2020-2024	−3.1 points	Within the margin of error	74%
Rent-burdened households	38.5%2015-2019	35.6%2020-2024	−2.9 points	Within the margin of error	66%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.9%2015-2019	10.1%2020-2024	+0.2 points	Within the margin of error	44%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Reserve, Louisiana five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Reserve, Louisiana in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Reserve, Louisiana itself moved +15.1 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

7,791 residents (±978)

Men
Women

80 and over†
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

2,924 households (±381)

Reserve, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Under $25k20%†583
$25k–50k22%†637
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

2,924 households (±381)

Reserve, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Own71%2,072
Rent29%†852

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

3,277 workers (±585)

Reserve, Louisiana
Louisiana share

Drive alone79%2,583
Carpool15%†496
Public transit0.6%†19

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the New Orleans-Metairie, LA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of St. John the Baptist Parish, the county holding most of Reserve's residents.

St. John the Baptist Parish has 658 employer establishments, 165 for every 10,000 residents (0.67× the US rate of 248; 0.70× Louisiana's), with 15,023 paid employees at an average annual pay of $65,469. The Census Bureau also counts 3,796 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 658; 3,796 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 165; US 248 · Louisiana 236
Paid employees: 15,023
Average annual pay: $65,469; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of St. John the Baptist Parish by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Restaurants and other eating places	50	12.6	0.68×Fewer than typical	729	$18,680	27
Ambulatory health care services	43	10.8	0.52×Fewer than typical	356	$59,076	167
Specialty trade contractors	33	8.3	0.54×Fewer than typical	3,853	$57,101	261
Truck transportation	33	8.3	1.64×More than typical	376	$63,681	165
Services to buildings and dwellings	25	6.3	0.93×About typical	257	$56,529	426
Limited-service restaurants	24	6	0.75×Fewer than typical	424	$16,889	11
Gasoline stations	22	5.5	1.70×More than typical	215	$26,679	3
Full-service restaurants	19	4.8	0.62×Fewer than typical	257	$21,848	9
Insurance agencies and brokerages	19	4.8	1.09×About typical	74	$58,270	50
Construction of buildings	18	4.5	0.60×Fewer than typical	149	$69,799	154
Automotive repair and maintenance	17	4.3	0.85×About typical	85	$50,824	71
Lessors of real estate	17	4.3	0.35×Fewer than typical	35	$47,171	195

Rank places for an industry Open St. John the Baptist Parish

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 39,818 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $16.6M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Reserve, Louisiana: $2,135 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $16.6M; +83% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2,135; US $1,995
Sole-source: 5.6%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.8%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$15.7M94%
Department of Veterans Affairs$935.6K5.6%
Defense Logistics Agency$14.7K0.1%

Top recipients

PITTMAN-SEALEVEL, L.L.C.$15M90%
DYNAMIC GROUP, LLC$539K3.2%
H & S COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL CONSTRUCTION LLC$428.2K2.6%
COACTINT LLC$391.9K2.4%
STANTEC CONSULTING SERVICES INC.$133.4K0.8%

Spending by fiscal year

138.4KFY2017
344.5KFY2018
1.3MFY2019
45.1KFY2020
36.8MFY2021
689.7KFY2022
37.7MFY2023
1.3MFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$15.6M94%
Facilities support services · 5612$428.2K2.6%
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors · 2381$391.9K2.4%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$133.4K0.8%
Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing · 3254$96.7K0.6%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Reserve, Louisiana

WEST SHORE LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN, LOUISIANA, HURRICANE AND STORM DAMAGE RISK REDUCTION PROJECT, LEVEES AND I-10 WEST T-WALL CROSSING, WSLP-106, ST JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH, LOUISIANA$50.7M
DYNAMIC GROUP, LLC· St. John the Baptist Parish, LA· Construction & real property· Sep 12, 2023 – May 28, 2026· W912P823C0050
2000007431/4210005140/OIL, SOYBEAN, CRUDE, DEGUMMED BULK$12.9M
CARGILL, INCORPORATED· St. John the Baptist Parish, LA· Other equipment & supplies· Nov 20, 2020 – Aug 18, 2026· 121NTB21C0016
COMMODITIES FOR USG FOOD DONATIONS: 2000010773/4210007373/SOYBEAN MEAL BULK$7.5M
CARGILL, INCORPORATED· St. John the Baptist Parish, LA· Other equipment & supplies· May 15, 2025 – Sep 2, 2026· 121NTB25C0025

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 6, 2026, loaded Oct 6, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Reserve, Louisiana, so they do not add up across cities.

Reserve, Louisiana's figures are part of those of St. John the Baptist Parish, LA ($426.8M in FY2026), never added to them: 3.9% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Reserve is mostly in St. John the Baptist Parish.

See federal money in St. John the Baptist Parish

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Reserve, Louisiana is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Troy A. CarterD-LA-2 · 100% of residentsWith party 98%Missed 1.3%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

St. John the Baptist Parish24100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

New Orleans-Metairie, LA35

Other cities and towns in St. John the Baptist Parish

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/2264310

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends